Medieval Madness
by Okura
Summary: My first Crash Bandicoot fic and how I feel Crash Bandicoot fanfiction should be written. Please read and review...
1. Paradox in Time

Chapter One  
  
Paradox in Time  
  
A gentle breeze whistled through the trees, gentling ruffling the orange fur of Crash Bandicoot, who was laying out in the sunshine on a deck chair, sunglasses wrapped around his head, listening to the soft lapping of the waves on the shores of N. Sanity Beach. Slowly sipping a mango and wumpa fruit punch from a coconut with a straw, Crash marveled at how everything was now in order. The hollow sucking of the straw warned Crash he was out of juice. Clicking his fingers as he sat up, Crash called over the drinks-man.  
  
"How may I help you sir?" the man asked, his large head with a capital 'N' shining in the sunlight.  
  
"Another," Crash ordered, holding out the coconut to Neo Cortex.  
  
"Right away sir," Cortex bowed, taking the coconut and left. Crash was just lying back down, when he heard, "Crash... Crash..."  
  
"Crikey," Crash proclaimed as he pulled off his sunglasses. "That was quick! I must... Aaaarggghhhh!" he shrieked as he looked into a pair of toothy jaws.  
  
"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down there!" a familiar voice answered from the jaws, and the brightness of the beach quickly faded into the darkness of Crash's messy room. The jaws retrieved a reptilian style body. It was Baby T the tyrannosaur, often called Tina by Crash and Coco.  
  
"Tina!" Crash cried in shock, then his eyes narrowed as he glanced at the clock. "2:23? What's the big idea of waking me up at this hour of the morning? And while we're at it, what have I told you about waking me up with those teeth beside me?"  
  
The young female Rex grinned a little, flashing the jaws again. "I guess I am a little frightening..." she giggled. It was an interesting side-effect of Cortex's experimentation that Crash and his sister Coco could understand the talk of other animals when the animal spoke directly to them. None of the other Commandos had this gift it was believed. "But, you have to come..." Tina continued. "Coco just discovered Cortex has been messing up time... yet again," she rolled her lizard-like eyes.  
  
Climbing out of bed slowly, Crash stepped on his yo-yo lying on the ground and his legs flew off from beneath him, causing him to land flat on his back. "You know," Tina began. "It could help if you tidied this jungle up once in a while."  
  
"Hey!" Crash protested as he climbed up, found his jeans and pulled them up over his pink boxers. "I've seen where you sleep. That slovenly nest with skeletons strewn around the place."  
  
Tina shook her little forearm angrily at Crash. "I'm a carnivore. That's how I live."  
  
"Whatever," Crash snapped as he pulled his finger-less leather gloves on. "Just don't criticize mine then." Finally dressed, Crash turned to Tina and asked, "Do you have any idea what's going on?"  
  
"Not a clue."  
  
"Crash," Coco proclaimed as he entered her bedroom, still dressed in her usual white shirt and blue overalls, her long flowing blonde hair that was always tied in a ponytail. She tossed a strand out of her face and focussed on her brother. "I just discovered what Cortex has been up to. He's been in the Middle Ages, sparking mayhem and disorder. And the world around us too is beginning to change because of it."  
  
Crash nodded, without paying any attention and glanced about his sister's bedroom. A large supercomputer took up most of the room, the key to it, her laptop. It was humming and buzzing away. The rest of the room was littered with techno gizmos, parts and pieces to improve Coco's time machine, the Time Weaver.  
  
A pair of yawns signaled the arrival of Polar and Pura, the polar bear and tiger cubs. "So, what's up?" the tiger purred, his hyper-activity already growing.  
  
"That too," another voice, an ominous mystical voice, added. "I would like to know." It belonged to Aku-Aku, the ancient witch-doctor spirit and Guardian of Earth. Aku-Aku was nothing more than a living voodoo mask that held within the spirit of the witch doctor, colorful feathers protruding from the head.  
  
"Right," Coco nodded. "I've been monitoring the temporal time flow with the aid of this new supercomputer, watching for any paradoxes. And it just spat one out. In medieval times, a new king came into reign. A notable 'King Neo.' This king has made large changes to that world, therefore, affecting ours in the process."  
  
Crash blinked, blew out some air in a 'whoosh' sound and flung his hand over his head. "Over and out. Translation please?"  
  
Sighing, Coco held her head in her hand for a moment, before replying with, "Cortex has gone back into the days of knights and kings and is screwing up the normal history. Understood?"  
  
"I think so," Crash nodded. "Although you lost me about the 'days of nights' thing. How can you have days of nights?"  
  
Rolling her eyes, Coco groaned, "Never mind. Just get some of our gear ready. I think you'd best get the jet-pack, the wrist transmitters and... uh..."  
  
"My shovel gloves?" Crash offered.  
  
Coco considered this for a moment. "Yeah. Bring them. They might just be handy. While you gather the gear, I'll activate the Time Weaver and pinpoint Cortex's location in time."  
  
"On to it," Crash answered, giving his sister an army salute and a laugh before dashing off down the corridor to the storage room. Tina, Polar and Pura quickly dashed out, after him.  
  
"Crash!" the polar bear Polar cried out as he dashed through the corridors with him. "Wait up!"  
  
But, Crash was already diving into the storage room, rummaging about for the items Coco had requested. In the room was a load of useful gadgets and gizmos, all stolen from Cortex. There was a Jet Board, Atlasphere, Copter-Pack and tons of other stuff. Parked out in the garage were their Bi-Planes, the Space Fighter, Motorcycle and Jeep.  
  
"Crash! We want to come with you!" Polar called out over the crashing and banging of the bandicoot digging about for things.  
  
Crash's head appeared between a few crates, blinking at the animals, before retracting and appearing before them, clutching two over-sized watches, a large shoulder strapped JetPack over his back and a pair of spiky gloves in his paws. "Sorry guys, but you know the rules..." he smiled as he gave them each a rub on the head. "We need you here to monitor the Time Weaver in case something happens. Aku-Aku can't do it alone..."  
  
"Well," Pura shrugged, his hyper-activity preventing him from sitting still. "It was worth a shot."  
  
"Too true!" Crash grinned. "Hey! One day we'll need you to come with us... Save it 'till then."  
  
Coco was standing in the main portal chamber, typing away at her laptop, with Aku-Aku floating over her, when Crash arrived. The room was a large mess of circuits and wires everywhere, one large metal ring stood in the center, lights flashing gently around it.  
  
Crash knew the routine. He walked behind the ring and placed the JetPack and Shovel Gloves in two of the five holding containers for the items. The items sat there for a few seconds while Crash backed off; then in a flash, they disappeared, awaiting in the time stream until they were called upon.  
  
Walking up to his sister, Crash strapped on his Wrist Transmitter and handed Coco hers. Coco continued to type for several more seconds, before she slammed her finger on the 'Enter' key and stood back, strapping on her transmitter as she turned to admire her handiwork.  
  
At once, the lights on the metal ring began to pick up speed in their flickering circle, until it was so fast, the lights never stopped glowing. A loud humming of the machines deafened everything. Then, a finger of lighting leapt from one side of the portal to the next. Then another. And another. And another... until with a blast of light, the portal glew a brilliant blue.  
  
"We'll be in touch with the transmitters!" Coco cried over the humming to Aku-Aku and the animals. "You all be ready to act if something happens okay?"  
  
"Sure thing," the mask nodded slightly.  
  
Crash grinned a wide grin at his sister and lowered into a running position. With a wave with his eyebrows, he launched into a dash, skip, jump and a forward flip; Crash vanished into the portal in a flash of light. Coco shrugged, tossed back her blonde flowing hair and ran at the portal as well, disappearing in a flash of light.  
  
Then the machine automatically shut down, until the bandicoots were ready to return home again.  
  
With a flash, a portal opened and Crash and Coco Bandicoot were ejected from the portal, onto the dusty road of a forest. Climbing to her feet first, Coco turned to gaze down the road at a castle near the end of the path. "That's our target Crash. Cortex's New Castle."  
  
"I think," a familiar human voice sneered. "You won't have to travel that far to find me. You'll never take my weapon in the north tower of the castle." Turning, both bandicoots saw that Cortex, wearing a golden crown and about three of his Cortex Commando genetic mutated soldiers surrounded them. "Well now, we're gonna have a hell of a time with you two," Cortex grinned, rubbing his hands together in glee. 


	2. Volcanic Panic

Chapter Two  
  
Volcanic Panic  
  
"Well, this ain't so bad," Coco assessed the situation from where she sat chained to a large rock, near the ledge of an active volcano, with a crumbled old castle sitting above the boiling magma below, connected to their ledge with a rickety old wooden bridge. "They could have chosen an instant death in which we couldn't escape from than this."  
  
"But you can't see what I do," Crash answered, "And trust me... It doesn't look too good."  
  
"Let's escape first," Coco suggested. "Then worry about anything else afterwards. Now, if you can handle me pulling the chains tightly for a few seconds, I just might be able to slip out my arm out and pick the lock with my hairpin. How 'bout it?"  
  
"Go," Crash answered, seconds before the chains pulled him tightly against the rock. They were beginning to crush him. "Coco! Stop!"  
  
"But I've just got out," his sister expressed as the chains loosened and she walked towards her brother. She swiftly worked on pulling the chains off of her brother. Then once Crash was freed, she also saw the problem. Skeletons. Lots of skeletons littered the floor nearby. Skeletons in armor, skeletons wearing tiaras, even horse skeletons. "Wow," Coco admitted. "What happened to them?"  
  
"I dunno," Crash answered. "But let's not hang around to find out..."  
  
"But what could have killed them?" Coco wondered out loud. "What attacks knights, princesses and..." she froze as she knew the answer.  
  
Then, a shadow crept over the sun, causing them to look up. A loud resounding roar and the reptilian look with wings had only one word to describe it. "DRAGON!!!" they screamed at one another.  
  
With another roar, the beast dived towards them, flames spewing from the mouth. Both bandicoots didn't wait for the flames to reach them, they dashed across the bridge towards the castle sitting in the moat of magma. The dragon landed on the lip of the volcano and sniggered as he watched the bandicoots scurry across the bridge. With blowing out a small fireball, he hit the ropes to the bridge, which began to burn.  
  
Coco felt the lurch as the ropes of the bridge began to give way. "Hurry Crash!" she cried as they were only halfway across the bridge as the ropes burned swift and clean.  
  
The bridge tilted to the side suddenly as one of the support ropes snapped. Coco screamed as she was launched from the side, towards the magma below.  
  
"Gotcha!" Crash cried as he snagged his sister's arm as he held onto the bridge still holding up with his other hand. Glancing back, Crash saw the rope was almost burnt through. "Grab onto the boards and hold tight!" he ordered his sister, who was currently climbing back up onto the bridge.  
  
Snap. The last support for the bridge snapped and it swung towards the cliff face near the castle. Both bandicoots held on tight for the ride of their lives. The bridge struck hard and, surprising, both bandicoots were able to keep hold of the bridge.  
  
"Quick!" Coco ordered. "Let's get up there before that dragon realizes we ain't dead!"  
  
Coco knelt over and puffed as she attempted to catch her breath. Crash meanwhile took to gazing around the deteriorated citadel. They were in a large hall-like area, bricks having fallen out of many places and the roof with holes. They had run in, dashing through a few open areas before they found this covered place and decided to use it as a temporary haven. There were even more skeletons lying here and there, scorch marks on the walls and all around, a total mess.  
  
"Heh," he sniggered. "If only T could see this..."  
  
"I... think..." Coco panted. "We gave that dragon... the slip Crash."  
  
"Maybe, maybe not," Crash murmured. "But I think we'd best be on our toes while we're here."  
  
Coco nodded as she took a gaze about her-self. She wondered about something. This didn't quite seem right until she saw...  
  
"Crash!" she gasped as she pointed into a corner of the room. The other bandicoot turned to see a pile of rope bridges lying in the corner and he too realized the problem. They weren't dealing with a wild beast, but a creature that planned and plotted. "It's a trap..."  
  
"Right," Crash answered, pulling up his wrist transmitter. "I'm calling Aku and telling him to get us out of this place."  
  
"But how?" Coco asked. "If we use the Time Weaver, we can't use it for another twenty four hours. We may cease to exist in that time!"  
  
"The JetPack," Crash answered as he pressed a few buttons on the transmitter...  
  
A loud roar combined with the smashing of the wall signaled the arrival of the dragon. Crash didn't have enough warning to dodge out of the way. He was knocked into the other wall by the force of the dragon's snout and flung through it.  
  
Crash gasped and yelled in terror as he realized he was floating above a pool of magma.  
  
Then gravity beckoned...  
  
Coco huddled underneath the stone stairs, hoping and praying the dragon wouldn't find her. It'd killed her brother and now it was after her. She just wanted to get out of there now and go home.  
  
"GIVE UP PRINCESS!" a loud voice rumbled from elsewhere in the castle. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME, INFERNO, THE LAST OF THE DRAGONS!"  
  
The female bandicoot almost screamed in shock. This monster could speak English!  
  
"I WILL FIND YOU SOONER OR LATER! AND YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THIS TRAP, SO JUST COME TO ME AND I PROMISE TO KILL YOU QUICKLY BEFORE I EAT YOU!"  
  
That voice was below. Coco saw a small hole in the floor and peered down, cautiously. Below was a vast green beast, with leathery wings and a long snout full of jagged teeth. There was no way even Tiny Tiger could take this guy and hope to win...  
  
Tink, tink, tink, tink... Coco noticed she'd knocked a small stone into the chamber below. Inferno's head snapped back and gazed up to see Coco. "You... you know..." Coco stammered. "I'm... n-n-not a p-p-p-princess. I'm not even... h-h-h-human."  
  
"DOESN'T MATTER," Inferno growled. "I'M HUNGRY!"  
  
Coco screamed as the dragon burst from the ground ahead of her, a loop of chain hanging from the ceiling encircling its throat. The terrified bandicoot screamed and flew up the stairs, feeling a blistering heat right on her tail.  
  
Crash slowly opened his eyes. He could feel great heat, but he wasn't dead...  
  
"YES!!!" the marsupial shrieked as he realized he was currently wearing the JetPack that was keeping him afloat. He couldn't believe his sheer dumb luck that it'd just been teleported to him and been activated in time to save his neck. He gave a spin of pure joy at being alive.  
  
Then he remembered Coco and the dragon still in the castle. He peered at the tower above. It was attached to a small island in the lava. A plan formed in his head.  
  
Pulling up his transmitter, he summoned his shovel gloves, which appeared on his hands.  
  
"Here we go!" Crash grinned as he placed the fists out in front of him and began to spin. After he reached a certain speed, he launched him-self at the island, tunneling through the rock...  
  
Coco grinded to a halt, just before she ran out of the open wall. She was trapped in the highest tower, with no way out and the dragon was swiftly storming up the stairs. She looked around for a weapon.  
  
"NO!" she screamed. All she'd found was the dragon's treasure hoard. There was a large gray stone, but she didn't know if she could squeeze behind it to hide. But she had to at least try.  
  
But, the second she touched the stone, she became stuck. She tried to pull her hand off the stone, but it was like it was super-glued to this stone. There was some odd magic to the stone.  
  
Then, Inferno arrived. Coco knew this was the end. There was truly no escape this time.  
  
But rather, Inferno growled angrily and dared not approach. Coco did not know why; the dragon could burn her to death, but he wouldn't do that either! He simply glowered and circled the bandicoot as she huddled next to the magic stone.  
  
Suddenly, the island gave an almighty lurch to the left. Both Inferno and Coco cried out in horror. The whole castle was about to tumble into the lava!  
  
Then, "Need a lift?"  
  
"Crash!"  
  
"Let go of the stone and lets go," the JetPack bandicoot grinned.  
  
"I can't!" Coco cried. "I'm stuck! It's like a magic spell or something."  
  
Crash growled. Then, "Hold onto the stone then!" He dashed in and wrapped his arms around the stone and lifted it. It was surprisingly light. He lifted out of the castle as it began to tumble into the lava.  
  
"NOOOOOO!" a voice behind them cried. Inferno was giving chase as they ascended into the sky and the castle sunk in the lava.  
  
Crash forced the JetPack on more and they gained distance from the dragon when...  
  
Inferno made a choking sound as the chain yanked on his throat as it reached its length. The sudden impact on him made him lose his wings and the dragon tumbled and landed with an enormous splash into the red-hot magma.  
  
The bandicoots watched as he thrashed out, roaring in agony, in the lava. He went under, three, four, five times before he went down for good.  
  
"Thank goodness that's over," Crash sighed as they landed on the grass a fair distance from the volcano. For some strange reason, she was now able to let go of the stone, which she left sitting on the ground. "I thought we were toast for sure!"  
  
"You still may be," a voice sniggered. Dingodile, a hybrid of half dingo and half crocodile was standing in front of them, his flame-thrower at the ready. He'd been hiding in the trees behind them. "Now are you going to come quietly, or do we have to hurt you?"  
  
"I'm not afraid of a freak like... urgh!" Crash moaned as sharp claws snagged his throat from behind. Tiny Tiger, a super strong tiger freak, growled as he held Crash's throat, the bandicoot's face right up to his toothy jaws as the bandicoot muttered, "We'll go quietly." 


	3. Dungeons and Dragons

Chapter Three  
  
Dungeons and Dragons  
  
"This is ridiculous!" Coco shrieked as she paced within their tiny cell, staring longingly at the keys dangling from the belt of the snoozing Rilla Roo, another hybrid, half kangaroo and half gorilla, outside their cell and the transmitters on the desk next to him, the JetPack leaning against the desk. Thick metal bars barricaded their escape and to make matters worse, Cortex had sentenced them to life imprisonment in this very cell. "Why do we keep being caught here in this time line?"  
  
Crash shrugged as he kicked the chains that he and his sister had just escaped from the stone that Coco had rescued from the castle. Dingodile and Tiny had chained them to it and had hauled them to the castle. As with before, Coco and her hairpin had freed them from the constraints.  
  
"Someone's coming!" Coco cried as she heard the approaching footsteps. Swiftly the two bandicoots threw the chains on crudely. So far, the only ones to check up on them and Rilla Roo was Koala Kong and Tiny Tiger, both of whom were incredibly strong, but not smart enough to add two and two.  
  
Coco's heart sank when she saw who it was. "Well, well, well," Dr N. Tropy, the Master of Time grinned with his blue face, the little facial hair he had dancing in delight as with the pistons and clock hands on his power suit. "Crafty little blighters, aren't we?" He turned to face Rilla Roo and snarled. Holding up his oversized tuning fork, he fired an energy bolt at the backside of the mutant.  
  
Rilla Roo jumped several feet in the air and came down with a crash. He glowered at N. Tropy and demanded, "What that for?"  
  
"The prisoners have escaped on YOUR watch."  
  
Rilla Roo stiffened and looked into the cell. He relaxed and snapped, struggling with the large word, "Ban... di... coots, still there."  
  
"Maybe so Rilla," Tropy smirked, "but they have escaped from their chains." He walked back to the cell and faced his tuning fork at the chains. A blast from the weapon and the chains leapt into life, wrapping them-selves tightly around the bandicoots and the stone and securing it with a magical lock. "Let's see you get out of that!" He turned back to Rilla Roo. "If we catch you sleeping again, you will be unevolved. Catch my drift?"  
  
Rilla Roo nodded and sat back into his seat to watch the bandicoots as Tropy wandered off laughing his head off. Rilla Roo lasted five, ten, thirteen minutes before he dozed off again.  
  
"Well, this is it," Coco sighed. "There is no escape this time at all. We may as well..."  
  
"Shhhhhh..." Crash hissed. "Listen."  
  
Over the snores of Rilla Roo, Coco faintly heard something fairly odd...  
  
"Move over! You're on my side!"  
  
"Your side? This is MY side thank you!"  
  
"Maybe so, but this is my egg!"  
  
"Our egg! OUR egg, brother!"  
  
Coco gasped as she realized the rock was in fact an egg. A dragon egg! No wonder Inferno would not attack her! He must have been afraid of attacking his young on accident.  
  
"Hey! I claimed it as mine first!"  
  
"Oww! That's it! I've had it with your claws-first attitude! I'm outta here!"  
  
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?"  
  
"Getting away from you brother!"  
  
"But you'll destroy my egg!"  
  
"Oww!" Crash gasped as something sharp stabbed him in the back. Rilla Roo gave a grunt. Coco suppressed a yell as something sharp scratched her head.  
  
Wincing and gasping as things poked and prodded them, Crash and Coco suddenly felt the wall behind them crumble and the chains loosen and fall lifelessly to the ground. The egg had broken into many little shards.  
  
As the two bandicoots turned, they found two dragons staring at them. The dragons stood on their hind legs, the front legs seeming to be like hands, while they also looked as if they could be used as legs. One was a blue color with a small horn poking out from its snout. The other one was a pink color, two blunt horns poking out from forehead. The pink one seemed to be a little afraid, while the blue one glowered at the two of them. Both were quite slender and about half the size of Crash and Coco.  
  
"You're not one of us," it snapped. "Who are you?"  
  
"Scorch," the pink one whimpered. "I'm afraid."  
  
"Don't worry Spark," the blue dragon, Scorch, answered as he lowered his head and smoke began to rise from his nostrils. "I'll protect you until father comes..."  
  
"Err..." Coco murmured. "We're not going to hurt you. We promise you."  
  
Scorch eyed her suspiciously, while Spark cowered underneath her brother. He turned to Crash, "Who are you?" Scorch demanded. "Where's father?"  
  
"I'm Crash," Crash said, pointing to him-self. Rilla Roo muttered in his sleep. "And this over there, is my sister Coco."  
  
Scorch's ears perked up as he heard a purring noise. "Get away from her!" he barked at Coco as he charged her and attempted to breathe fire, but only let out smoke.  
  
"Hey! I liked that," Spark protested as Coco's hand retracted in fright from rubbing her head. Coco reached back out and Scorch snapped at her with his teeth. "Hey! Scorch!" Spark protested again, her eyes wide in wonder and delight at Coco. "Maybe we should them a chance. They seem friendly enough..."  
  
"But they aren't like us!" Scorch snapped. "Where is father? I want father!"  
  
"I don't know where he is," Crash lied. He felt guilty that it was he that had killed their father. "We were simply tied to your egg. And then you hatched."  
  
Scorch glared at Crash as if he knew that he was lying.  
  
"Listen err..." Coco asked the young female.  
  
"Spark. My name is Spark."  
  
"Right, Spark," Coco smiled and winked at her brother. "Could you squeeze through those bars and get us the keys from that sleeping oaf there?"  
  
The pink dragon frowned in fright. "I guess I could try."  
  
"They are not our kind!" Scorch raged, as he sat down, clearly not going to be any help. "We should just stay here and wait for father."  
  
But Spark snorted a little flicker of flame from her mouth. "You always bullied me around. Well, now that I'm out of that egg, I'm not taking your orders anymore." She strolled on her own to the bars and easily slipped through. Slowly approaching the napping Rilla Roo, she grasped the keys with her front claws and tugged them gently from his belt.  
  
Rilla Roo snorted and rolled over as Spark returned with the keys. She handed them to Coco, who quickly unlocked the door and pocketed the keys. She and Crash collected their items and were about to escape from the dungeon, when Spark asked, "Scorch, are you coming?"  
  
"No!" the moody male snapped as he sat exactly where'd he'd hatched. "I'm waiting here for father! I'm not going to move at all."  
  
"Suit your-self," Spark answered and she ran to Crash and Coco. Her afraid face was replaced with one of disgust. "Leave him. He never changes his bad attitudes."  
  
"Then lets get going to the north tower then," Coco answered, remember Cortex's mention of a 'weapon' within. "We got to find out what this 'weapon' Cortex slipped on mentioning."  
  
Crash nodded and he, Coco and Spark quickly and quietly left, leaving Rilla Roo to his dreams.  
  
Five minutes, after their departure, Dingodile arrived to check up to find the cell empty, except for a small dragon sitting among some strange gray fragments. "Where are the bandicoots?" he snapped at the dragon.  
  
"The north tower," Scorch snarled, not even turning around.  
  
Dingodile nodded in understanding, then, "Hey, are you related to the dragon Inferno in any way?"  
  
Scorch turned around and stared at Dingodile, "Why?"  
  
Dingodile smiled, flashing his reptilian teeth. But, before he answered, he turned to face the napping Rilla Roo and took careful aim at his tail with his flame-thrower... 


	4. Flight and Fight

Chapter Four  
  
Flight and Fight  
  
Crash, Coco and their new friend Spark hurried down the corridors, quietly. Twice, they almost ran into one of Cortex's minions. The first was the insane Ripper Roo, who they were alerted of his presence when a loud explosion went off down the hall and he came bouncing down, all black from the blast and laughing his head off.   
  
The second was the infamous Dr. N. Gin, with his large missile sticking out of his head. The scientist was fuming from his missile, which looked set to explode at any given second. Something must have happened that REALLY ticked him off.  
  
"Geez," Coco sighed as she realized they'd passed the same portraiture of Cortex for the fourth time. "It's a maze in here! We'll never find the North Tower like this."  
  
"It's you!" a voice cried out from down the hall. Wheeling around, the group spotted none other than Dr. Nitrus Brio. The doctor charged up at them, his long skinny head with bolts sticking out of the sides. He beckoned them towards a door, opened it with a set of keys he had and shoved Crash, Coco and Spark through. He then latched the door from the outside. Then, a metallic clanking echoed throughout the halls and Dr. N. Trance appeared. The egg shaped Master of Hypnotism in his metallic body, for he had lost his own limbs long ago, clanked towards him.  
  
"What are you doing here?" the hypnotic scoundrel snarled at N. Brio.  
  
"I could ask you the very same question Trance!" Brio snapped. "I was given the keys by Cortex him-self, so I am supposed to patrol the hallways. You, on the other hand have no business here."  
  
N. Trance glared at him, then the large claw on his right arm opened, a hypnotic spiral beginning to spin. Brio swiftly whipped out a beaker full of a red fluid. "Go ahead Trance... Make my day! You know I despise you. And you know I can survive this stuff... but you can't."  
  
Trance glowered and closed the claw with a clink. "I know you're up to something Nitrus! That fool Neo may not believe me, but I know not to trust you."  
  
"Well, maybe that's the reason why Cortex give me higher duties than you. I trust him and he trusts me."  
  
The two doctors scowled at one another, then Trance stormed off in a huff. "By the way," the hypnotic master added angrily. "Did you hear those bandicoots escaped? Better keep an eye out for them. Don't want to be the one that lets them slip through your fingers right?"  
  
Brio just glared and watched as his egg shaped nemesis walk off. He pretended to be inspecting the rooms in case Trance was still watching, before he slipped into the room he'd locked Crash and Coco in. "I was wondering when you'd escape that dungeon!" he exclaimed as he bolted the door behind him-self.  
  
"You could have given us a hand Brio," Crash answered as he sat up from lying down on the soft bed. "Hey, whose room is this anyway?"  
  
"Uh..." Brio thought for a moment. "It's Pinstripe's I believe. And I'm sorry I didn't help you, but Cortex gave me direct orders to patrol the halls. It'd blow my cover if I'd left to help you. Then I couldn't spy and help you out. Hey! Who's this?" he asked as he pointed to Spark, who was purring like a cat as Coco rubbed her scaly head.  
  
"This is Spark," Coco answered. "We found her and she helped us escape."  
  
Brio chewed his lip for a second. "You know, it was a dragon that tipped off Dingodile that you were heading for the North Tower."  
  
"Scorch!" Spark spat, sparkles of flame on her breath. "I swear, I'll kill him!"  
  
"So they know we're heading for the tower?" Crash answered, flopping back onto the bed. "Great! Just great! So what are they doing to protect the tower?"  
  
Brio thought for a moment. "The entrance is guarded. You'd have to battle your way through seven minions to get there. Err... six."  
  
"Huh?" Coco asked. "Why only six?"  
  
"Because Crunch is one of them. He'd let you pass, pretending you'd beaten him cause he's with me remember? But the others... well, they'd all want to kill you."  
  
"Who are they?" Crash asked.  
  
"Let's see, there's the Komodo Bros. Joe and Moe. Tiny Tiger is directly after them. Koala Kong is the next one afterwards. Then, Crunch, Pinstripe and finally N. Gin has something up there." Brio sighed. "There's no way you could get through all of them undetected. You'd be seen and captured. Or very well perhaps, killed."  
  
Coco pondered for a second. "What is up there anyway?"  
  
"That I don't know," Brio shrugged. "Cortex has kept it very quiet. In fact, only he and Uka-Uka know about it I believe."  
  
Coco pondered for a moment. "Is there any other way into the tower?"  
  
Brio shook his head. "Sorry, but that is the only way in, or out. At least that I know of."  
  
Coco thought for a minute. "What we need..." she suggested. "Is a diversion. Something to distract them all and leave their posts for a few minutes so one of us can slip into the tower."  
  
"I think..." Brio beamed. "I may have just the thing! This here," Nitrus smiled as he handed Coco a flask of an odd bleached colored liquid. "Is a new mix I've made just recently. Mix it with a piece of someone, hair, skin, whatever... and you take on the physical appearance of that person for a period of time."  
  
"So what do we do?" Crash asked. "I become Tiny or someone for a little while?"  
  
"No," Brio shook his head. "You have to get in on force anyway. And stealing part of that person will get them to trip the alarm and it all goes to waste. No, this potion is for Spark."  
  
"Me?" the young dragon gasped. "Why me?"  
  
Brio grinned and pulled a hair from Crash's head. "Oww! Hey!"  
  
"I get it!" Coco gasped. "Spark takes on the look of Crash and she and I flee from the castle. Cortex will order the Commandos after us because he'd believe we were no longer in the castle. Meanwhile, the real Crash gets inside the tower, right?"  
  
Brio nodded. "I'll smuggle you to a safe exit and then you go, cause the distraction and then hide somewhere. Crash, you'll be able to cope with Cortex your-self right?"  
  
"No problem... That oaf is no problem for me."  
  
"Get them! Get the bandicoots you fools!" Cortex's voice roared throughout the castle from a loud speaker as Coco and 'Crash' fled from the back exit, taunting by poking out their tongues and pulling down eyelids at the mad scientist, wherever he was. "They're no longer in the castle! Capture them! Get them! Just get those bandicoots!"  
  
Moments after, Coco and 'Crash' fled into the woods as every single minion of Cortex's gave chase. Dingodile, Tiny, the Komodo Bros., N. Trance, N. Tropy, N. Gin, Pinstripe, Rilla Roo, Ripper Roo and Koala Kong. Crunch and Brio were also there, but only so they blow their cover as spies.  
  
The real Crash watched and waited for a minute, before he stepped out into the open. The coast seemed clear, but Crash had a strange feeling that there was a bit more to this than what he saw. With the JetPack on his back, Crash quickly located the North Tower and was going to make a beeline for it when he heard, "WE MEET AGAIN!"  
  
Turning, Crash saw him-self staring into the face of Inferno. Some of the scales were blackened and patches of skin underneath them was red raw, but the dragon was alive and well. Having hidden behind the castle wall, Inferno had waited for the perfect chance. Crash uttered something in fright and swiftly leapt into action with the JetPack into the sky.  
  
With a roar, he saw that Inferno was attempting to follow him into the sky. The dragon's wings were badly torched, but the dragon leapt into the sky and confronted the bandicoot by cutting him off. Crash halted in mid-air, confused on what to do now.  
  
"Yeah! You get him!" a smaller voice barked and Crash saw a smaller blue dragon appear beside Inferno, in full flight. Scorch. "I want to see him die!"  
  
Inferno growled and yelled, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"  
  
Scorch turned to his father his eyes wide in shock. "But... but... I want to see this... learn to hunt like you..."  
  
Inferno snapped back, "GET OUT, YOU STUPID JUVENILE! I DON'T HAVE TIME TO MESS WITH THE LIKES OF YOU! I AGREED TO YOUR MOTHER THAT I'D HATCH YOU, BUT THAT WAS IT! NOW GET LOST!" Drawing back his wing, Inferno struck Scorch hard with it, causing the young dragon to tumble towards the ground, lost of consciousness.  
  
Crash seriously didn't like the young cocky dragon, but he couldn't let the little thing die like that. Cutting the JetPack, he dropped, confusing Inferno for a moment. Once Crash was facing the ground, he turned the pack on again and dove for the falling dragon. Snagging the tail, he hauled the young dragon up as he pulled out of the dive, a searing heat on his jeans. He dodged just in time to avoid a large fireball that Inferno had attempted to inflict upon him.  
  
Clutching the benumbed Scorch close, Crash remembered how Coco told him Inferno wouldn't attack in case he harmed his young. Would it work again? As he narrowly dodged a jet of scoldering flames, Crash realized that wasn't the case. There was only one thing left to do... knock Inferno out.   
  
Flying low to the turret he'd left from, Crash dropped the lifeless Scorch onto the tower safely and jetted off. As Crash continued to jet about, dodging Inferno's blasts, he looked for a suitable way to knock the dragon out.  
  
The portcullis! If he could get Inferno to fly into it, perhaps that would do it! It certainly looked powerful enough to knock the dragon senseless. The gate was big enough for Inferno to fit through, so if he dropped the portcullis at the last second...  
  
"Yeah! Just like you dragons!" Crash yelled out to taunt Inferno. "Always insist on using your fire! You're probably too slow to catch me aren't you?"  
  
"YOU RECKON I'M SLOW DO YOU?" the dragon roared. "VERY WELL YOU SHYSTER. I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE OF DEATH! HERE I COME!" And the vast beast folded back its wings and dove towards Crash.  
  
Crash flew around the castle walls, in an attempt to get Inferno off guard. He had to lead the dragon to think that he wasn't attempting a trap. The dragon was indeed very fast; in fact, he was gaining distance between them. Crash had to do it right now or he would be dragon fodder before the next pass. Turning sharply into the gates, he smashed the latch on the wheel for the portcullis with his hand as he flew past, smashing his wrist transmitter badly. Several sparks shot out from the contraption.  
  
He heard the heavy crash of the metal portcullis and then roaring of agony behind him. Turning as he landed the JetPack, he saw Inferno, his head inside the castle gates, but the rest outside. The portcullis had come down on his neck. Crash gasped in horror as he watched the dragon thrash and roar in pain, slowly getting weaker and weaker, until... the head slumped to one side, the eyes rolled back and the vast beast's tongue rolled out.  
  
Crash just stood there. He couldn't believe it. He'd killed someone that was neutral. Okay, he was trying to kill him but still, Inferno was neutral. Never before had he actually killed someone. Last time, he hadn't attempted to kill Inferno, but almost did, and the same applied for this time, only, he had actually succeeded in killing him.  
  
"Crash!" a voice called out. "Help us!" It was through the transmitter, rough and static sounding as the transmitter struggled to cope with the message. It was Polar's voice. "The whole future is changing! If this carries on too much longer, we'll disappear! Crash you need to..." But the transmitter fell dead.  
  
The bandicoot gritted his teeth. He'd have to take out Cortex right now. Jetting up to the North Tower, he pulled out the keys they had stolen from Rilla Roo some time ago in the dungeon. He unlocked the door and opened it, throwing off his JetPack. Glancing one last time at the lifeless bulk that was Inferno, he decided something...  
  
He would mourn for his sin later... he would mourn for Inferno later on... the dragon may tried to kill him, but he was still a living creature that Crash him-self had killed, when Crash had sworn not to follow in Cortex's footsteps...  
  
He would honor Inferno's life afterwards.  
  
Then he entered and pulled the door behind him. 


	5. Heated Battle

Chapter Five  
  
Heated Battle  
  
"Well, well, well," the sinister voice of Dr. Neo Cortex gloated as Crash turned around to see him, still wearing the crown and sitting comfortably in a comfortable throne. Dressed in his usual lab coat, the doctor's 'N' on his forehead glistened in the weak light of the room, through small patches in the tiling of the roof and from the weird items Neo chose to hoard here. "We are a clever bandicoot, aren't we? I never would have guessed you would have made it this far, but here we are again... Meeting under the same world domination circumstances."  
  
"Only because you are the one who always sets up these schemes," Crash snapped.  
  
"Well, well, well," Cortex smiled, ignoring Crash's insult. "I suppose you want to know why we are here in this time, in our attempts to rule the world."  
  
"We? Our?" Crash babbled without thinking first.  
  
"You always seem to forget bandicoot," a darker, more malevolent voice called out from above. Two glowing red eyes appeared as the mask Uka-Uka, the twin brother of Aku-Aku, lowered into view. Crash almost slapped him-self as he realized he'd forgotten about this evil entity. Black in coloration, three bones tied to the mask and vents of dark energy flowing from him, Uka-Uka was a force to be reckoned with. The mask continued, "That Cortex does not work on his own accord. Otherwise he is nothing more than a bumbling idiot."  
  
"Hey!" Cortex protested.  
  
"You are Cortex. Do you wish to argue against me?"  
  
"No, my Lord," Cortex bowed his head and shut up, although it was plain to see, he hated the remark. The doctor glared up at Crash and grinned, "Anyway, my dear bandicoot guest... I believe we were going to explain our plot.  
  
"In these times, the people are very superstitious. Only far too easy to make them think I am a God. And by doing so, I can be written down as a God in history. Then, when I return to the future, the world is ours, and you and your friends are extinct."  
  
"But of course," Uka-Uka added, a wide, evil grin curled around his face. "We needed something that can make people identify him in the future."  
  
"Ever read King Arthur?" Cortex chuckled. "We decided to do our own real 'Sword in the Stone' legend. Together with the help of Uka-Uka, I made this..." Cortex stood up and withdrew the sword that was sheathed to his belt. A fine sword it was indeed, except for the fact that the hilt was twisted and curved in an evil manner, the blade was black and dark energy was radiating from it. "Magnificent isn't it?"  
  
"More like ugly," Crash answered. "A real sword would look much better than that."  
  
"Like this bandicoot?" Uka-Uka laughed as a majestic sword appeared before Crash. It was covered in jewels on the hilt and the blade was clean. "Go on, take it..." Uka-Uka laughed. "We made that especially for you... You'll need it..."  
  
Crash took the sword and held it cautiously. It was perfect in weight, size and everything else, as if it had been indeed made for Crash. "Why would you make me a sword like this? Why not just destroy me?" Crash asked suspiciously.  
  
"Oh, only a very small and minor matter," Cortex snickered. "I want to test out this sword on you and saw it fitting to at least give you a fair chance. Although, since mine is full of dark energy, both you and your sword will be sliced in half in one go." And Cortex threw back his head and laughed.  
  
"And my pitiful brother is not here to help you," Uka-Uka snarled.  
  
"So, let's go Crash Bandicoot!" Cortex ordered. "I promise you will feel lots of pain."  
  
Crash turned to face the door. But it was gone, a solid brick wall stood in its place. "No escape this time bandicoot," Uka-Uka snapped. "That is one of my many mystical traps; a one-way door."  
  
Cortex gave a yell and charged at Crash, swinging his sword to end it all. Crash lifted up his sword, his eyes closed, to counter the attack although he knew it was pointless.  
  
A bright flash of light and Cortex was thrown back, his dark sword clattered away. "What the?" Uka-Uka roared.  
  
The benevolent voice of Aku-Aku appeared over them, even though he was not present, "How many times must I tell you brother... Good will always triumphant in the end. These bandicoots are under my protection and as they have opened their hearts to me, I have mine to theirs. My powers, are their powers and this, as long as you remain shrouded in darkness is something you will never understand. The true power... comes from the heart."  
  
Crash opened his eyes to see that his sword was now glowing with pure good energy. His blade was a blade of undiluted virtuous intensity; no dark force could harm it.  
  
Neo Cortex stood up and roared in frustration. He snatched up his dark sword off of the floor and charged Crash again. With another simple counter, Crash blocked the attack and Cortex was thrown to the other side of the tower.   
  
After a stunning fourth failure, Cortex attempted to charge Crash one last time, ready to outwit the bandicoot with a deceptive attack, followed with a rebuke of Crash's block and then a low strike. The perfect plan to get at Crash and destroy him.  
  
A enigmatic expression swept over Crash's face. Uka-Uka was able to read the expression and predict the bandicoot's anticipated move. "Cortex!" Uka-Uka shrieked. "No!"  
  
But it was too late...  
  
With a simple parry swipe, Crash severed the dark sword into two. Cortex was again blown back and screamed, "You fool! You simple-minded, brainless buffoon!" He stared at horror at the two shattered sword fragments. "Have you any idea of what you've done?!?"  
  
"I've ended your attempt at world conquest," Crash grinned as he held out his sword.  
  
"Uka-Uka!" Cortex shrieked as he glanced at the remnants of the dark sword, which was beginning to shake. "Let's get out of here!" The evil mask attached it-self onto Cortex's face, with a dark aura engulfing them both.   
  
And as a portal through time opened behind them, the two beings spoke as one, "You realize Crash Bandicoot that all that dark energy was extremely badly compressed into that sword. With its sudden expulsion from the blade, it is now going to explode. It is completely unstable and now you are going to go boom with this entire castle. Farewell..." and with a flash, the two disappeared.  
  
Crash glanced over at the dark blade. It was violently shaking, sparks now flying from the two severed pieces. Glancing around, Crash knew there had to be a secret exit here somewhere. Spotting a trapdoor underneath Cortex's throne with his keen eyes, Crash threw the chair aside and jumped down the hole, sliding down the ladder. He emerged from the portraiture of Cortex that they had past so many times, meaning he was now on the ground floor of the castle.   
  
He had began to travel through the maze of passageways, when he heard the explosion far above him and a rushing noise of dark flames. The bandicoot began to fly down the labyrinth, knowing that the flames were pursuing him the whole time.  
  
Glancing back, he saw the wall of black flames swiftly approach the start of the tunnel behind him and start in his direction. The flames were spreading throughout the castle, incinerating anything in its path and when all of the passageways became blocked with dark fire, the castle would blow up. And if he wasn't out and far away by that point...  
  
"Gotcha!" a voice snarled ahead. Crash glanced ahead to see the young dragon Scorch pounce at him and wrestle him to the ground. Crash struggled, but the young dragon wrestled him down and into submission, attempting to engulf the bandicoot into the confines of his outstretched wings.  
  
'This is it,' Crash thought as he fought the young dragon and heard the flames racing towards him. 'I'm a goner this time.'  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!" Coco and 'Crash'/Spark shrieked as she saw the castle explode with a black flame from the far distance in their hiding hole cave. A few seconds later, the sound hit them. The explosion that shattered the entire castle to ruins. Stones flew as far as they were. She saw a stone strike Koala Kong to the ground, but the humor of the situation didn't pass the fact that Crash could have been in there.  
  
She pressed the button on her communicator and called out, "Crash? Crash? CRASH!" But the voice message just said, "This unit you are trying to contact, is offline."  
  
"Scorch..." 'Crash'/Spark muttered, her voice cracking. She remembered her brother was waiting in the dungeon for their father to return. He would not have moved for anything but the father. Was it likely that even he too, was gone?  
  
She and 'Crash' stood there staring at the debris falling from miles around. Then, they both burst into tears. They bawled for a while until Crunch, a larger bandicoot with a metal gauntlet sneaked into the cave. At first, he startled them, but once Coco realized it was him, she threw her-self into his wide arms and continued to cry.   
  
Crunch waited for a little while, comforting her, before he said to Coco, "Cortex has ordered us to leave. He says Crash was in the castle when it blew up. Is that true?"  
  
Coco nodded, tears streaming down her face.  
  
Crunch glanced back into the cave, "But, Crash is here..."  
  
Just then, the potion wore off and Spark, in a shower of embers, reverted back to her normal self. Crunch staggered back in shock, but keep his feet and holding Coco.   
  
Crunch glanced back out towards where the Commandos were grouping. Tiny was helping support Koala Kong up. "They'll come for me soon, so I'd better go. Listen, get back to Aku and explain the situation. He'll help you through it Coco. Don't stay here and mope around. Crash died in doing what was right. And you should be proud of your brother for this. I know I am and I know this is the reason Cortex fears him. Seek the guidance of Aku. He'll help you to no ends." And with that, Crunch let go of Coco slowly, so she stood to her feet and swiftly scrambled down and hurried over to all the other minions.   
  
Coco glared at all of them. How she hated them all, even Crunch and Brio. She hated Cortex. She hated Tiny and Dingodile and Rilla Roo. She hated them all! She screamed in frustration, rage and sorrow. She'd kill them all for what they'd done to her.  
  
Before she knew what she was doing, Coco was running down towards them, ready to take them all her-self. "Coco!" Spark screamed and chased after her. Coco didn't care if she was killed anymore, just as long as she took out several of the others before she was taken her-self.  
  
But, before she could even reach their eye sight, there was a flash of light and they were all gone.  
  
Coco released a cry of anguish and fell to the ground, pounding it with a fist.  
  
Coco and Spark walked down to the shattered remains of the castle. It was barely even a skeleton of it's former self. Slabs of stone littered the grounds for miles. They passed the blackened remains of Inferno, still stuck underneath the portcullis, probably the only things still standing. Coco wondered what he was doing here. Spark was curious to why her father was dead.  
  
"We'll find the bodies," Coco growled. "We'll find them, take them back and try to find some way to bring them back."  
  
"But..." Spark argued. "Isn't that against the law of nature? Isn't death the end?"  
  
"Crash and I have been against nature from the start!" Coco exploded. "Thanks to Cortex, we can fit no-where! We're not human, nor are we animal anymore! So I ask you, where do we belong?" She roared in rage again and angrily kicked a large black stone. A faint wheeze was heard from it. "What the?"  
  
The stone had moved inwards from where Coco had kicked it and slowly reverted back to its original shape. Not only that, but a faint, familiar groan was heard. "Crash?"  
  
Slowly, the stone opened up. The stone was in fact, Scorch's wings, blackened from the blast. Within, burnt, bruised and battered were Scorch and Crash curled up, but still very much alive. The two slowly stood up to their feet, Crash leaning on his sword, while Scorch shook the blackness from him-self.  
  
Coco threw her-self at her brother and started to cry, while he helped support her up, while leaning on the sword he still had for support him-self. He glanced over at Scorch, who had Spark rubbing up against him in an affectionate way. And he seemed to be enjoying it as well.  
  
"But... but... I don't understand," Coco stammered once she'd stopped crying. "How did you... survive that blast?"  
  
Crash chuckled a little, "I wouldn't have if Scorch had decided to change sides."  
  
"What?" Spark asked her brother.  
  
"I found father," Scorch explained. "But he was extremely cruel. He did not care for me. Nor for you. He attacked me and was willing to let me die. I realized when I woke, still alive, that someone had saved me. And there was only one kind enough to do that. Then, I saw father dead. I was hurt, but I knew that, perhaps, friendship could be stronger than family in some instances. I remembered these two who were kind to us, although I lashed out. And so, I sought out Crash in the castle before the explosion."  
  
Crash took over, "As it seems, dragons can survive extremely hot temperatures, the reason Inferno survived the volcano, he simply waited for the chains to melt then hauled him-self to a nearby ledge. He was weakened of course, just like Scorch here. Scorch smothered me and at first..." Crash slipped over a bit and Coco grabbed him to prevent him tumbling over. "Thanks. At first... I thought he was attacking me until he said 'Be still, I'm trying to save you!' And so, I let him cover us up and we were able to survive."  
  
"And that sword?" Coco asked, seeing it glowing white as Crash leant on it.  
  
"Long story," Crash answered with a barked laugh. "But to cut it short, Aku gave it to me. But," he grimaced. "I don't wish to keep it. It's power is far too strong." He stumbled over to a large slab of stone from the castle. He raised the sword high and jammed it deep into the rock, hot sparks flying as he did so. "There. Now no-one will use it in case they become corrupted."  
  
Coco walked over and gave the sword a tug. "It's stuck fast."  
  
Crash glanced over at the two dragon fledglings. Spark was now licking one of Scorch's deeper wounds. "You think, we should take them with us? I mean, we're their friends now..."  
  
"Oh boy," Coco laughed. "At this rate, we'll be able to open a pet store. Yeah, alright. I suppose they've got no-where else to go, so lets take them home with us. Oh, and there's another reason..."  
  
"What's that?" Crash inquired, his face curious at this odd pose by Coco.  
  
"Well," Coco began. "You see, dragons don't live in our world right? This is because the last of them die out today... or at least, do not live in this time-span. You see Crash, we were intended to destroy the last of the dragon-kind. But, we maybe able to take Scorch and Spark with us and therefore, they stand a new chance in the future..."  
  
Crash grinned. "Okay, C'mon you two," Crash called over the dragons. "We're going home. Back to our home, but you can call it your home too if you want to."  
  
Spark stared at Scorch hopefully. "Yeah," Scorch smirked happily. "We'll come with you."  
  
Crash and Coco walked over to the two fledglings. Coco pressed a button on her communicator, "Aku, bring us back now! The mission was a success!"  
  
There was a crackling, then Aku-Aku's voice, "That's passage for two through time, coming right up."  
  
"Make that four," Crash added to Coco's transmitter as his was busted.  
  
"Four?" Aku-Aku's voice gasped. "Don't tell me you're picking up time hitch-hikers again."  
  
Coco sniggered and answered, "Yeah, for four Aku. We'll introduce you when we get back."  
  
"Okay, that's in five... four... three... two... one..."  
  
A bright flash of light, and the bandicoots were gone...  
  
"What are you doing that for Crash?" Scorch asked as he observed Crash doing the strangest thing he'd ever seen, just at the edge of their section, the beginning of the jungle. "Since when did you enjoy gardening?"  
  
"Sorry Scorch," Crash sighed as he stood up, shuffling something with his foot carefully into the flower bushes that were planted there. "But this is just something I felt I needed to do. I'll explain it all and show it all to you and the others when you're older."  
  
As Crash led the young dragon away from his secret patch, he was unaware that Aku-Aku had been watching. He read out the inscription on the tablet of stone Crash had hidden into the flowers to him-self quietly. "Dedicated to Inferno. The Last of the Great Winged Fire Lizards."  
  
END 


End file.
